Harry Potter and the Phoenix's Gift
by FB Slim
Summary: I've posted Chapter 4 for anyone wanting to read this. This is Harry's Fifth year and all that. It has a Cho/Harry/Herm love triangle. Ginny/Draco if possible. If not, Ginny/Colin and Draco/Blaise Zabini. Funny as well.
1. The Invitation

A Story about Harry Potter ****

A Story about Harry Potter

Firstly, something I would like to tell you. I don't like Ron Weasley, so he will not have a very good year.

Disclaimer: I know I don't own them, you know I don't own them, what the hell's the point of this?

Harry was woken by something dropping on his face. Apparently, Hedwig wanted him to sample a rat she'd just caught. Harry had an intense dislike of rats, especially ones with a toe missing or a silver paw. She was also carrying a letter from his friend Hermione. Harry opened it eagerly, and read out:

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Dear Harry,

I had a great time in Bulgaria, and I've only just got home tonight! Viktor has a massive house; I had to ask the painting for directions to my room. You won't believe what Viktor's parents got me. Your own library? He sniggered at the thought. _No, not my own library, a broomstick! It's a Bulgarian model called the Windspeed. It's not as good as the Firebolt, but I did see one that was! It's got a name like the Meteor Mark 1. It was 2000 galleons, 99 sickles and is made by the same people who did the Firebolt. Enough broom talk, I was wondering whether you could come over to my place for the rest of the summer? Please send a reply back ASAP._

Love, Hermione.

PS. I got autographs of the rest of the team for you.

A few thoughts were going through Harry's head. Firstly, there was already a broom better than the Firebolt! They didn't hang about, did they? Secondly, was it going to be possible to convince the Dursleys to let him go? And finally, what was she getting him for his birthday? All these questions, yet, no answer for any of them. He decided he'd spring the main question on his uncle the next morning.

The next morning (didn't expect that eh?) as they were eating a single sausage each (Dudley's starvation the previous summer seemed to be paying off) Harry casually said, "Uncle Vernon, one of my friends asked if I could stay over for the rest of the holidays. Can I?" Vernon paled as he remembered the last time one of Harry's friends had picked him up, Dudley had ended up with a very long tongue and their artificial fireplace had been blasted across the room. He purpled. Quickly, Harry added, "Her parents are normal people, dentists in fact." Vernon looked considerably calmer. "All right, you can go." 

The rest of the week Harry spent packing all his things; it took longer because he couldn't find his book list. Eventually, it was the day of departure. Harry had arranged for the Grangers to pick him up at 3:00. No sooner had the clock gone when a navy blue Mercedes parked in front of the house. They were obviously well paid dentists. Dudley-who didn't learn from previous experiences-waited in the sitting room as Aunt Petunia invited them in. The Dursleys were amazingly civil and even invited them to stay for dinner.

After refusing politely, they loaded Harry's trunk into the boot and set off. Harry had noticed something about Dudley and mentioned it to Hermione. She was disgusted. "What do you mean he was eyeing me?" she shrieked. He teased her about it for the whole duration of the car trip. 'Still, he might be on to something,' thought Harry to himself. 'Her teeth are smaller, she seemed to have stopped her hair being bushy and she does have a great figure…Dammit, stop thinking like that! She's one of your best friends! Speaking of best friends…' "Hey, Herm, where's Ron? Is he already at your place?" "Harry, Ron said he wasn't coming. He's cross with me for going to Bulgaria." Harry was about to say something when the car stopped suddenly. "We're here!" called Hermione's mum.

Hermione led Harry to the guestroom. She helped him unpack all his stuff before they went down for dinner. Harry had never enjoyed a sugar free meal so much, even though the conversation was all about teeth and braces. As soon as they had finished, Hermione showed him her broom. He inspected and commented on it, noting how the handle was similar to the old Comet series but how the speed could rival a Nimbus 2001. They spent the rest of the day doing homework, which Hermione insisted on. Harry flopped down on the guest bed after finishing an essay on Restorative Potions. What a day! It was Harry's birthday tomorrow and they were all going to Diagon Alley the next day. He couldn't wait.

They set off early next morning and got to Diagon Alley in time to have some ice creams courtesy of Florence Fortesque. Hermione's parents left them, saying to meet back up with them at 4:30 outside Gringotts. After getting some money, they headed straight to Flourish and Blotts to get their new books:

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The Standard Book of Spells Grade 5

Advanced Transfiguration (Not to be confused with Expert Transfiguration - for the Newts)

More Monsters than You Wish to know about (for both Care of Magical Creatures and DADA)

5000 Magical Herbs and Fungi

Duelling Made Easy

Understanding the Stars (Astronomy and Divination)

Hermione also made them get Certain Things to Revise for the OWLs. Once they left, she rushed of though, leaving him free to examine the Meteor Mark 1 in Quality Quidditch Supplies. It was beautiful. Coming in Mahogany, Oak, Ash or Willow, it was perfection itself. Bullet edged tip and sleek shaped Harry read that it could do 0-100 in 5 seconds. Perfect reactions, amazingly sensitive, Harry had never wanted anything so much (except when he first saw the Firebolt).

Harry glanced down at his new waterproof Casio on his wrist (he had done a few odd jobs over the summer, getting some money) and saw the time was 4:20. Taking one more wistful glance at the Meteor he walked out of the shop, down to Gringotts. Hermione was already there, tapping her foot impatiently. Once he got over she handed him a small package. Inside was something that closely resembled a Muggle Walkman. "It's a portable Witching Wireless," she explained. A look of dawning came over his face and he grinned and hugged her. "Great, thanks Herm!"

They'll be back at Hogwarts next chapter. Please review/flame don't really care!


	2. Return to the Castle

To anyone who was unfortunate enough to click onto this story, here is Chapter 2 for your enjoyment/dislike

To anyone who was unfortunate enough to click onto this story, here is Chapter 2 for your enjoyment/dislike. You can review/flame or do neither. It's your choice.

Disclaimer: Okay, if I owned them this story would be selling in its millions and I would be rich. Guess what? I'm not.

Harry awoke to Hermione bouncing on his bed. "Gerroff!" he yelled. "Okay, okay. Calm down. Just want to tell you that we both got another letter. Oh, cute PJs by the way." Harry blushed and pulled up the bed cover. "Thanks. I'll be down later." Harry tore open the envelope once Hermione had gone and read: 

__

Dear Mr Potter,

We are pleased to inform you that you have been made a prefect. As a prefect, you will have to set a good example to younger students and abide by all the rules. Harry sniggered. He doubted that it was possible for him to get through the year without breaking at least a few. _There will be a meeting in my office on the first day of term during the Sorting. _

Yours Sincerely,

Professor McGonagall

Harry sighed and put away the letter. He hoped his friend Ron was a prefect, as he wanted to be Head Boy. He got up and walked to the shower.

The next few weeks passed without incident, except when the two kids went to see a movie. There, they bumped into a boy from Harry's old school (original idea, eh?) named Frank. 

"Hey Harry!" he called over. Surprised he had remembered his name Harry walked over. 

"Hi, long time no see." Frank said. 

"Yeah, five years." 

"Been doing yourself well I see," he said giving Hermione a long look. Interpreting this glance Harry said, 

"Nah, she's just a friend." 

"JUST A FRIEND! Did all those punches Dudley give you go to your head? She is hot!" With this Hermione yelled over, 

"I CAN hear you, you know!" Frank blushed and lowered his voice. 

"You know, back when we went to school together, nobody really disliked you, we just didn't want to get the shit knocked out of us by Dudley's gang." 

"Don't worry about it, it's forgotten."

"Speaking of school, where do you go? I thought you were going to Stonewall."

"Oh, just some boarding school. I really gotta go, see you around!" Harry said, as he walked over to where Hermione was standing.

"So what were you two talking about besides me?"

"Reliving painful memories involving Dudley and his fists." _'And some new ones I've just thought up now involving you and a bikini,' _but he didn't say that.

Before they knew it, it was September 1. Unlike whenever Harry stayed over at the Weasly's, there was no rushed packing. Hermione's organised parents had them do it around a week in advance. Setting off early, they arrived with an hour to spare. They lugged their trunks on to the train, reserved a carriage and then set off to look for their friends. Ron arrived at 10:45. "Come on Harry, help me with my trunk," he called. His was a good deal heavier than usual as Fred and George had managed to persuade him to smuggle some of their spare pranks. It was their last year, and they wanted to go out with a bang (probably a toilet).

"Are you going to greet me too?" asked Hermione. "Hello," Ron said, rather coldly. She threw her hands in the air (and then caught them and put them back on). "Oh come on! You can't still be mad with me about Viktor can you?" "I can and I am," he said stubbornly. "Oh fine then. Anyway, we've broken up. It wouldn't work out." At this, his expression softened. Harry, however was unimpressed. "He got you a broom!" Hermione shifted uncomfortably. "Yes, well, I did feel rather bad, dumping him after that." _'Well, at least she's free now!' _

From then on, Ron was a lot nicer to Hermione. He was a prefect too (Hey, it's not as if I know how many prefects you can have from each house) and so could still hold on to his dream of being Head Boy (which is a bit dumb when he's in the same year as the Boy Who Lived). The journey happened as follows:

  1. Harry bought the usual masses of treats

  2. Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle came in and were sent out with threats of them getting Hagrid to give him a 'ferret' sandwich.

  3. Neville came in and roped them into finding Trevor

  4. Fred and George tried to give them some food they had bewitched, but the Sneakoscope gave them away.

  5. Ron gave him his present, an owl care kit. At the school they looked after them, but he would need his own set at home. No more stealing Aunt Petunia's hair brush.

Finally, the Hogwarts Express stopped. As soon as they stepped out, they heard the massive rumbling voice of Hagrid. "Firs' years! Firs' years over 'ere! Any more firs' years? Alrigh' Harry!" Grinning, Harry, Ron and Hermione got in a carriage. Neville tried to get in too, but was beaten by Pavarti. Lavender glared at her but said nothing. They reached the castle and Harry and co. walked off after McGonagall. She led the first years to the hall and from there Snape took them. Harry thought it unwise to expose the children to such horror, but said nothing.

She stopped outside her office and they went in. The Head Boy and Girl, as well as the other prefects were there. Cho Chang gave him a quick smile and his heart leapt. _'Make up your mind. Do you like Hermione or Cho? Well, Hermione has a great smile, but so does Cho, Hermione has great legs, but so does Cho, Hermione would be great in a snog, but so would Cho…_

"Well Mr Potter, as I was saying, those are the reasons for changing the passwords fortnightly, instead of monthly. Do you agree with everyone else?" 

"What?" said Harry, snapping out of his daydream. "Uh, yeah, I think that's a great idea." 

"Well, that's the meeting over for today, get back to the feast."

They got back to the Hall in time to hear Dumbledore say, "Now we are all watered and fed, it is time to return to your common rooms."

Sadly glancing at the empty plates, the prefects trooped up the respective staircases. "Damn that McGonagall," they heard Malfoy mutter (of course Snape made him a prefect) "What the hell was the point of that meeting?" Silently, Harry agreed, but he would never tell Malfoy that. His last thought was, as he collapsed on his bed without changing was: _'Definitely Hermione!'_

In case you haven't realised, I'm a Harry/Hermione shipper. Personally, I preferred this chapter to the first one. I might not be able to post any new chapters for a while, 'cos it's my exam week. Luv ya! Bye!


	3. The Announcement

Thanks to everyone who reviewed my story 'What Happens When You Get Help With Your Homework'

Thanks to everyone who reviewed my story 'What Happens When You Get Help With Your Homework'. In this chapter, Trelawney makes another real prediction, Dumbledore makes an announcement, Harry has a bit of a girl problem and Ron gets rather cross with him (not in that order). Review/flame if you like.

Disclaimer: I don't own the characters featured in this story. (HA! Expecting something flashy were you? Tough.) That honour goes to JK Rowling.

The next morning, Harry awoke to the thought: _'I've changed my mind. Definitely Cho.'_ Perhaps the dream he had just had assisted this thought, but that's another story. (It's called Harry's Dream and I'm working on it now.) Wondering out loud he said: "Wonder if Cho I likes me too?" 

"Of course she does," came Ron's voice from the other bed. "She kept glancing at you during the prefect meeting. Come to think of it, so did Herm and Pavarti. I wish I had that choice of girls." Harry laughed and started changing. 

"Don't worry, I'm all for Cho at the moment." 

"Good. I'm thinking of asking out Herm," Ron replied, climbing out of bed.

Down at breakfast, Harry was just about to start his meal of bacon, sausages, fried eggs, toast and pumpkin juice when Dumbledore stood up. "May I have your attention please?" Everyone stopped dead. "Thank you. We are having another ball this year, a Christmas ball, to be precise. The prefects and Head Boy and Girl will be organising it. That is all." As he sat down, the hall began buzzing about this news. Without thinking, Harry turned to Hermione and said: "Want to go with me?" Her food stopped halfway to her mouth. 

"Of course!" she said, pecking him on the cheek. Harry thought she sounded rather cheerful. He turned to Ron to find him scowling. 

"I thought you were all for Cho." With that, he picked up his bag and walked off. 

"What's with him?" asked Hermione. 

"Tell, you later. Right now, I need to talk to him."

Harry ran towards Ron, but before he reached him, someone blocked him. "Cho, I've got to catch up with Ron." 

"Harry, do you want to go to the ball with me?"

"Cho, I said…what?"

"Do you want to go to the ball with me?" Harry didn't know what to say. He wanted to, but he had already asked Hermione. Still, he knew he probably wouldn't get another chance after this. 

"Um, sure?"

"Great!" she beamed. "See you later," she said, as she kissed him on his other cheek. With that, she walked off. Harry sighed. Ron was nowhere to be seen and he had two dates. _'My life sucks ass. Still, two kisses in one day…' _He walked back to the Griffindor table.

As he approached, Pavarti stepped out. "Harry, do you want to go to the ball with me?" He sighed. _'Where do all these girls come from?'_

"Sorry, but I'm going with Cho, err, Hermione." He thought it wise to say the latter as Pavarti could ask her and it could be confirmed. _'As long as it doesn't spread around the school,' _he thought. She looked disappointed but tried to hide it. "Oh, okay. See you around." Harry didn't have any time to feel guilty. "Damn, I'm late for Divination!"

As he sat down (next to Neville, as Ron had given his usual seat to Seamus and was ignoring him) Trelawney came in, late as usual. 

"Good morning my dears. I was having an extra long crystal ball gazing session, which informed me what you had to do for the OWLs." Most people sniggered. It was common knowledge that she was a fraud, a belief that everyone but Lavender and Pavarti agreed with. "We are to revise the stars, tea leaves and crystal balls. We also should start premonitions and, though not necessarily, tarot cards. Harry started to doze off. At the end of the lesson, Neville shook him awake. _'Nope, Hermione's better. Shit! Will I make up my mind?' _He yawned, stood up and began to head down the stairs after everyone else. Suddenly, Trelawney started speaking in THAT tone. The one she used when she made real predictions.

"The dark lord's servant shall return to Hogwarts and will take the most loved person of his master's greatest enemy. Two will reunite and try and stop him. One will die, but not one of the three. A final creature will destroy something once and for all." 

As Harry tried to figure this out, she returned to her normal state. He walked down. _'The dark lord and his servant bit is pretty obvious, but who is my most loved person? Is it Ron? _(Harry thought this because of the Goblet of Fire's second task)_ Nah, he hates me at the moment. I suppose it's him I reunite with. Who dies? And who, or what, is the final creature?_ Finding answers for none of these questions, he walked off to his next lesson (Defence against the Dark Arts) without even thinking who would be the teacher this year.

A woman walked in the room. Most of the boys gawked. Sorry, all of the boys gawked. She was only in her early to mid twenties, and was drop, dead, gorgeous. Her dark brown hair, tanned complexion, and chocolate coloured eyes were beautiful enough, but her smile was dazzling. Her teeth almost shone, and she had two cute dimples. Her blue robes hung perfectly to her body, showing a fabulous figure. She then started talking, her voice being as sublime as her body. 

"Good Morning, my name is Jeanine Anderson and I will be taking you for Defence against the Dark Arts this year. Let me tell you about myself. I'm currently working as an Auror for the Ministry and have been for 6 years, since I was 19. Before that, I attended Hogwarts and was in Ravenclaw. I then took a two-year course at a training school. I specialise curses. Now then, I am to teach you a few to use when you are in a tight spot and also how to block them. Any volunteers?" Half of the hands shot up (assuming that half are boys). "She scanned the class. "What about you Harry? You've probably had more in the way of curses than anyone else." He blushed and walked to the front with all the boys glaring at him. "So, how many do you know?" Harry reeled of all the ones he, Hermione and Ron had researched. "Not bad. Okay, I'm going to use a completely different curse to any of those. Try to block it. Ready? _Confundus Psychosis!_" A florescent beam flashed out of her wand and headed straight towards Harry…

Sorry, I felt like writing a cliff-hanger. What will the spell do? Read the next chapter when it comes out. Oh, and sorry to all of you who prefer blondes.


	4. Quidditch Tryouts

Woohoo

Sorry this chapter took so long. Anyway, Woohoo! School's out for me. Okay, now you find out what happens to Harry, who the new member of the Gryffindor Quidditch Team is, the prefects start planning for the Christmas Ball, and read an unexpected announcement in 'The Daily Prophet' (not in that order). Please review or flame. You may find this a bit boring but it's just a build up to the ball next time.

Disclaimer: It is under FAN FICTION. As in fiction, written by a fan. You can't be a fan if you are the owner (unless you are extremely big headed). So I am NOT the rightful author. Got that? Good. As I was saying, I own only the two new teachers, the spells you haven't heard of and the plot.

Another thing, I've decided to recommend other books for people who re-read the Harry Potter books over and over again. Firstly, my favourite book of all time, Artemis Fowl by Eoin Colfer! It may be a bit short but it is an 11/10 book easily. It kicks ass!

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Without thinking, Harry whipped out his wand and pointed at the spell heading straight for his face. 

"_Finite Incantum!_" To his total amazement, once the two spells collided, they both disappeared in a puff of blue (hey, it's my favourite colour, okay?) smoke. Professor Anderson started clapping. 

"Well done!" she said, beaming. "Some of the simpler spells can be stopped by ending it before it even makes contact. Other more complicated spells require both duellers to speak the chosen spell at the same time. There are also certain spells one can cast on oneself (sorry that sounded posh, but it didn't sound right any other way) to deflect the spells off them. For your homework, you are to do research on these spells. Oh, and 5 points to Gryffindor. Class dismissed."

As everyone grabbed their bags and rushed out, the professor called back the trio (I'm not sure if I can call them that, as Ron still isn't speaking to the other two).

"Albus told me to give you three some private tutorial, seeing as you're always getting into trouble and you'll probably need it with the return of the dark lord and all that. Is 7:00 on Saturday good?"

"Uh, yeah, okay."

"Great! See you next lesson."

"By the way, what would the spell have done if it hit me?"

She grinned wickedly. "You would have kept hearing voices and hallucinating. Nothing big."

Harry's jaw dropped. _'That's a SIMPLE spell? Then I'd hate to see a complex one!'_

Next on their timetable was History of Magic. As they sat down, a middle aged man walked in. He had blonde hair, pale skin and white robes (no, it ISN'T Lucius Malfoy).

"I am your new History of Magic teacher, Daniel S Pierce. Professor Binns retired last year to haunt some old school of his in Wales so I will be taking over. Today we will see how phoenixes have played an important part of the defeat of dark wizards, especially Dumbledore's one, Fawkes, which helped immensely during the war against Grindelwald. The reason you don't have any books are because you will not need them. I will be using a projection spell to show you. Turn around and face the back wall."

The whole class did so and Professor Pierce pointed his wand at it. Instantly, it was a scene of chaos. Spells where flying thick and fast, the occasional Avada Kedrava taking someone down. Dumbledore was down on the ground bleeding (at this, several pupils gasped) and his wand was in the hand of another wizard, who was standing over him. "Well Albus, sorry it had to turn out like this, but it's your own fault for opposing me. Good bye. Avada Ked…What the hell?"

A red-golden plumed bird had just flown right at him. At the last moment, it swerved towards his hand, knocking both wands away. Albus grabbed them. "_Stupefy!_" Grindelwald crumpled to the ground in a paralysed heap. Fawkes landed on his owner's shoulder and began to cry. As soon as the tears made contact with any wounds, they disappeared. Albus stood up and fired something into the air. It was the yin-yang symbol, with black underneath, the symbol of good triumphing. It was sacred, once the leader of a force was defeated; they all had to surrender. The projection then ended. 'Damn,' thought Harry. 'Wish I had had some popcorn.' (You may think that was cold, but he already knew the out come. It's not as if Dumbledore is dead is it?) 

"I hope you were all watching carefully, as I for homework, you are to write a five feet long essay based on this event. There are several books in the library to do with this, so I suggest you borrow them. Class dismissed." Everyone rose and headed for the Great Hall for lunch.

Hermione kept glancing upwards all through the meal. "I'm waiting for my Daily Prophet subscription," she explained. Finally, an owl appeared. Hermione skimmed the front page. "Yes!" she exclaimed, handing it to Harry.

__

Ace Reporter Resigns!

Rita Skeeter, special correspondent, has announced that she will no longer be writing articles for any newspaper or magazine. No one knows the reason for this, but one thing is for sure: The Prophet will never be the same again!

"Herm, I have a feeling you've got something to do with this. Did you threaten the beetle lady?"

"She deserved it! Spying on me and you…"

"And Vicky," inserted Ron, his old malice back.

Harry was saved from this argument because he just remembered something Fred and George told him to do (he was appointed captain by a unanimous vote). He stood up and said,

"Hey! If anyone from the second year upwards wants to try out for the position of Gryffindor Keeper, sign your names on the form over the fire place in the common room and come down to the practice pitch at 7 tonight!"

Just then, McGonagall called out: "Prefects, meet in my office after lunch to discuss what we should do for the Christmas ball."

Ron, Harry, and Hermione rose and walked over.

After a long and quite frankly, *boring* meeting, they decided to do pretty much the same thing as last year's Yule Ball. There was to be a Hogsmeade weekend on the week before for people to buy new dress robes and the like. Harry trudged up to the common room, sat down on the puffy armchair and had soon dozed off.

Harry glanced at his watch. 6:55! He grabbed the sheet, went to the boy's dorms, grabbed his Firebolt (why doesn't he keep it in the broom shed?) and flew out the window. As he landed, he saw a crowd of people walking towards him. _'Shit!' _he thought. _'This might take a while!'_

He handed a spare broom to the person first in line, next to their name on the list, noted how many out of the 10 shots attempted they saved.

After an hour, Harry was finally nearing the end. He had had to switch Angelina with Katie Bell, as she was starting to get tired. So far, the best had been little Dennis Creevey (yes, Dennis, not Colin) with 7 saves. He had reached the last person in the line. It was Ron. Handing him the broom, he zoomed up to the post. Katie, Quaffle under arm, bolted along, swerved and threw it at the hoop farthest from Ron. Somehow, he managed to get behind it. That happened every time. Just when you thought it was in, Ron appeared out of no where to block. Not one got past him. As he came down, Harry congratulated him, though somewhat stiffly. He then called:

"Thanks for trying out. The new Gryffindor Keeper is Ron Weasley and the reserve is Dennis Creevey."

Once everyone but the two new members had vacated, Harry rubbed his hands together. 

"Right, let's get down to business."

Harry, believed in the opinion of everyone on the team. He asked what they thought of his basic strategy, then modified it to their approval. He didn't draw squiggly lines/arrows all over, but described the techniques in word. There was a bit of a problem with Dennis, as he was not quite as knowledgeable in the sport as the others were, but that was sorted when Ron showed him. 

Finally, practice was over. The next time, they would try them out. They put the brooms away then headed straight to their dorms. Harry felt as though nothing could spoil his good mood. Then he remembered that he still had **two** girls to take to **one** ball. _'Talk about how to kill a good mood!'_ He drifted off into an uneasy sleep that was haunted by a nightmare. He dreamt he was at the ball and everybody was laughing at him. He looked down and saw he was only in his teddy bear boxers. Just then, both Cho and Hermione came up to him from different sides.

"Dance with me Harry!"

"No, dance with me!"

"Me!"

"Me!"

"Excuse me…" Harry started.

"You keep out of this!" they yelled at him.

They both kept pulling in opposite directions. He could fell his arms straining. Any second they were going to pop. He closed his eyes, bracing himself...

And woke up in a cold sweat in his bed. _'Voldemort don't got crap on those two. I suppose it's true what they say: Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned!'_

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I love that quote! Next chapter is "A traditional fairy tale ending…Not!" It's all about the ball. I'll be back! Ciao!


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